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F. E. ARNDT. MECHANISM FOR TILTING ROAD. GRADER SCRAPERS 0R M APPLICATION 'FILED MAY 24. I915. 1,318,473. Patented Oct. 14,1919.

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F. E. ARNDT. MECHANISM FOR Hume now GRADER SCRAPERS on mowaomws.

' APPLICATION FILED MAY 24. I919. 1 ,318,4?3. Patented Oct. 14,1919.

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FRANKLIN E. ARNDT, 0F GALION, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE GALION IRON WORKS & MFG.

00., 0F GALION, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

MECHANISM FOR TILTING ROAD-GRADER SCRAPERS OR MOLDBOARDS.

Application filed May 24, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANKLIN E. AnND'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at Galion, in the county of Crawford and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanism for Tilting Road-Grader Scrapers or Moldboards, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to road graders of that type wherein a transversely extending scraper or mold board is used suspended from the frame of the machine and shift able into different angles with relation to the line of draft, and particularly to means for pivot-ally supporting the scraping blade or mold board and for adjusting the scraper or mold board, and for tilting the scraper or mold board into diflerent angles with relation to the road surface and holding it in its tilted or adjusted position.

In the successful operation of road graders, particularly large road graders, it is very necessary to be able to change the angle of the mold board or scraper so that the scraper shall either stand approximately perpendicular to the work and exert a scraping action as distinguished from a cutting action, or shall be disposed at less than a right angle to the work so that it may cut in under the work and give a better cutting slant to the blade.

The general object of this invention is to provide improved means for adjusting the angle of the blade to the work and holding it in its adjusted position.

And a further object is to provide means for this purpose so constructed that a single operating shaft will shift all portions of the blade at the same time, thus permitting the blade to be adjusted by one operator with one actuation, doing away with the necessity of securing the tilting of the blade by the use of a plurality of adjusting devices, each requiring to be separately adjusted.

A further object is to provide a construction of this character which will hold the blade firmly against the strains to which it is submitted.

Another object is to provide a unitary adjusting and locking means which, when it is adjusted, will hold the blade against further tilting movement in either direc tion.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 14, 1919. Serial No. 299,417.

A further object is to provide a tilting or adjusting mechanism which is so housed as to prevent dust, mud, or other foreign matter from having access to the adjusting mechanism and clogging it, and which will prevent the parts from becoming rusted.

A further object is to provide adjusting means so constructed that the adjustment of the blade cannot be changed by unauthorized parties or mischievously.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure l is a fragmentary side elevation of a conventional type of road grader with my improvement applied thereto, the circle 14 being in section;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the scraper and its adjustable supporting means, the beam 15 being in section; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentar 1 rear elevation of the scraper supporting means, the beam 15 being in section.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated my invention as applied to a certain form or type of grading machine designed for very heavy work. I have illus trated such a machine in Fig. 1, but obviously the invention might be applied to other forms of grader. Inasmuch as the form of grading machine illustrated in Fig. l is well known, it is only necessary to say that it comprises a supportingframe consisting of longitudinally extending, upwardly bowed beams 10 operatively mounted upon the front wheels 11, and the rear wheels 12, the rear wheels being the steering wheels and the forward wheels supporting the rearwardly extending floating beams 13, carrying the usual circle 14, which may be a complete circle or only part of a circle, and carries the rotatably mounted supporting member 15 thereon, which is rotatably adjusted by means of a pinion 16 mounted upon an upwardly and rearwardly extending shaft 17 having a crank handle at its upper end.

Means is provided for vertically adjusting the floating beams 13 independently of each other to secure the proper lateral tilt or inclination where necessary. Of course, the machine is provided with steering mechanism and draft mechanism, but inasmuch as these machines are well known, it is not deemed necessary to describe these details of construction.

Attached to the rotatable supporting member 15 and depending therefrom are a plurality of knees or brackets 18, these brackets being curved downward and rearward and then forward and downward and decreasing in depth toward their lower ends. Disposed in front of these brackets is the scraper or mold board 19 which may be of any suitable form, but is shown as downwardly and forwardly curved, a cut"- ting blade 19 being attachedto the lower edge of themold board. Bolted or otherwise attached to the lower margin of-the mold board or scraper upon its rear face is a longitudinally extending angular bracket 20 having thereon upwardly and rearwardly extending, perforated ears 21, which are pivoted to the lower ends of th'ebrackets 18. These brackets 18 at their upper ends are angularly bent and riveted, bolted, or otherwise attached to the transversely extending member 15 which forms part -'of the rotatable element 15.

Extending through and supported in the brackets 18 is -'a transverse shaft 22 which, at a plurality of points, is provided with crank arms 23, preferably arranged in pairs. At intervals upon the upper portion of the rear face of the scraper or mold board-19 are disposed angular brackets 2i, and pivotally connected to these brackets are the links 25 which, in turn, are pivotally connected to the pairs of crankarms 23. It will thus be obvious that when the shaft 22 which, as before stated, is mounted in-suitable bearings on the brackets 18, is oscillated in one direction 'or the other, the mold board will be tilted from a position where it is ap pr'oxi mately perpendicular to the surface of the roadway, to aposition where it is disposed at less than a right angle to the-surface of the roadway.

It will be noted from Fig. 2 that the mold board 19 extends slightly above the channel bar 15 so that this channel bar acts as a stop limiting the rearward movement of the upper portion of the mold board, butT'I do not wish to be limited to this or to the exact position or this stop. The mold board 19 and the blade 19 have such a curvature, however, that when the brought back against this stop formed by the end beam 'of the channel 15 the blade will exert a shearing cutbut when the shaft 22 is turned so as to force the upper portion of the mold board upon the shaft 22 a worm wheel 26, which is mold board is j, outward to its full extent, the blade 19 will be turned to ZL'POSIlJTOIr-PB'P 'pendicular to the road surface and will exert ing formed in two sections, one of said sections 29 having a circular portion covering the worm wheel and a portion covering the worm, and havingibearings for'the support of theworm shaft and having flanges adapted to be boltedor'otherwise attached to the channeled .member 15, this section being formed with a circumferential flange 30 having-perforated ears. The opposite section 3 1 simplycon'sists of plate fitting up'on the circumferential wall 30 or, the other section of the housing and also formed with perforated ears for the passage of screws-whereby the two sections may be engaged with each other. Thus, the worm and worm gear are entirely housed and protected from .dust, dirt, mud, and other foreign matter, and these partsu'may, if desired, run in oil, though, of course-,- there is no particular necessity for this under ordinary circumstances.

'lVhen it is desired to adjust themold board,. a.lpreferably crank-shaped wrench is applied to the polygonal head of the shaft 28-and the shaft rotated in one direction or the other. I do not wish to be limited to having the worm shaft disposed in a hori zontal position, as it is obvious that it may be disposed in. anyaother suitable position,

either vertically or horizontally, or between the two. .Neither :do I wish to be limited to the usezofa worm- Egear shaft designed for engagement by a detachable wrench,1as it is obvious that any-suitable means may be permanently mounted upon this shaft whereby it may be rotated. By providing it with a polygonal head, however, the wrench may beidetached after the mold board has been adjusted and there. will be; no chance whatever 'for the adjustment of the mold board to .be changed with. the use of a light wrench for the purpose. This prevents careless or mischievous persons adjustment of the mold board.

It will, of course, be understood that by providing a-w'ormwheel and a worm engaging it, that the-worm will hold the worm wheel from any 'rot-ativemovement, and thus this worm gear acts to hold the shaft in adjusted p'osition and, therefore, the scraper or mold board in its-adjusted position-against the strains to which. it is subjected. 1

While I have illustrated certain details of construction and arrangement of parts whichvI have found to be of practical value in use, yet I- do not wish to be limited to these details or arrangements, as it is .ob-

from meddling with the vious that many changes might be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim 1. In a machine of the character described, a supporting element having depending brackets, a scraper pivotally connected adjacent its lower and cutting edge to said brackets for tilting movement, a transverse shaft supported in said brackets, a plurality of operative connections between the shaft and the upper portion of the scraper whereby the upper portion of the scraper may be shifted toward or from the brackets upon an oscillation of the shaft, a worm wheel mounted upon the shaft, and a manually controllable worm engaging said worm wheel whereby the inclination of the scraper may be adjusted and the scraper held in its adjusted positions.

2. In a machine of the character described, a supporting element having depending brackets, a scraper pivotally connected adjacent its lower and cutting edge to said brackets for tilting movement, a transverse shaft supported in said brackets, a plurality of operative connections between the shaft and the upper portion of the scraper whereby the upper portion of the scraper may be shifted toward or from the brackets upon an oscillation of the shaft, a worm wheel mounted upon the shaft, a manually controllable worm engaging said worm wheel whereby the inclination of the scraper may be adjusted and the scraper held in its adjusted positions, and a housing inclosing the worm wheel and worm and operatively mounted upon the supporting member, the worm shaft projecting through said hous- 111 5. In a machine of the character described, a supporting element having depending brackets, a scraper pivotally connected adjacent its lower and cutting edge to said brackets for tilting movement, a transverse shaft supported in said brackets, a plurality of operative connections between the shaft and the upper portion of the scraper Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the whereby the upper portion of the scraper may be shifted toward or from the brackets upon an oscillation of the shaft, a worm Wheel mounted upon the shaft, and a manually controllable worm engaging said worm wheel whereby the inclination of the scraper may be adjusted and the scraper held in its adjusted positions, the worm shaft having a many-sided end whereby it may be rotated.

4. A road grader including a wheeled supporting frame, a supporting member carried by the frame and mounted for rotation in an approximately horizontal plane, brackets operatively connected to the supporting member and extending downward and forward therefrom, a scraper having ears projecting from its rear face and pivotally connected to the extremities of the brackets, a shaft passing through said brackets, a plurality of links pivotally connected to the upper portion of the scraper, means operatively connecting the links to the shaft to cause a reciprocation of the links upon a rotation of the shaft to thereby tilt the scraper, and a single means for manually oscillating the shaft, said means acting to hold it in its adjusted position.

5. A road grader including a wheeled supporting frame, a supporting member carried by the frame and mounted for rotation in an approximately horizontal plane, brackets operatively connected to the supporting member and extending downward and forward therefrom, a scraper having ears projecting from its rear face and pivotally connected to the extremities of the brackets, a shaft passing through said brackets, a plurality of links pivotally connected to the upper portion of the scraper, means operatively connecting the links to the shaft to cause a reciprocation of the links upon a rotation of the shaft to thereby tilt the scraper,

a worm wheel mounted upon the shaft, and

a manually operable worm engaging the worm wheel whereby the shaft may be oscillated and held in its adjusted position.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

FRANKLIN E. ARNDT.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

